The Stealth Bank Run in Europe

Today the markets should bounce on the tentative Moodys affirmation of our AAA rating, some decent earnings news/ sellside analyst chatter and a deeply oversold condition. The case for a “dead cat bounce” has been made perfectly by my man Zor so hit this post before the open:

Anyway, I’m getting all kinds of emails and phone calls with anecdotes about the stealth bank runs happening in Greece and Italy. People are pulling out cash from their accounts and putting it into safe deposit boxes, in vaults and even bringing it home.

The Guardian has some crazy details:

“Every time the markets move, I get phone calls,” says an Athens-based fund manager. “They’re from investors asking: ‘How can I get my money out of the country?’ ”

One senior investment banker is more blunt: “People are scared that the government doesn’t know what the fuck it’s doing.” He tells a story about an acquaintance who took out €30,000, wrapped it in a bag and stashed it in his garage. “The bag had previously had some food inside,” he says. “So it attracted rats, who ate the notes.”

Yes, you’re gonna want to refrain from coating your money in feta cheese and olive juice, George, otherwise the rats are going to eat it all up.

The action in the Swiss Franc versus the Euro ($CHFEUR) this week has been completely bananas as well as my friend Robert Sinn pointed out to me last night. All of Europe is plowing into the one gold-backed currency they can and this morning the Swissies hit the panic button.

Are these the types of stories one hears just as things are getting as bad as they can get?